Ed Andersen, President of Tru Group, an engineering consultancy withexpertise in lithium extraction, estimates there are currently over 150 lithium brine projects in the U.S., but he saysmost are doomed to failure:
“There has been only one successful new plant start-up since the lithium push began in 2009 and a number of complete failures. There have been about 100 attempts by mining juniors to get into lithium production – but nearly all have not met promised targets and most demonstrated minimal progress.”
As recently as December 2021,he said:
“We don’t have a direct extraction technology that, to my mind, is anywhere near commercialization.”
